SALVAGE THE BONES by Jesmyn Ward

Salvage the Bones is the story of the Batiste family, who lead difficult lives in a small town near the Mississippi coast. This novel is the story of the days leading up to Hurricane Katrina and its immediate aftermath as told by Esch, the only girl in a family of boys, whose mother died after giving birth to her younges tson.

Esch’s voice is amazing: she’s a smart, tough teenager. She’s a bit in love with Manny, the father of her unborn child. She fiercely loves her siblings and even he rdepressed, alcoholic father. She especially loves her brother Skeetah, who in turn loves his pit bull China, who gives birth in the opening chapter of the book. Skeetah’s relationship with China is Esch’s model for parenta llove. Her dysfunctional model for romantic love comes from her assigned summer reading of Edith Hamilton’s Mythology: the love story of Medea and Jason, which ends in betrayal.

This is not a sentimental story. The Batistes are in tough circumstances: Dad is an alcoholic who can’t keep a job and is very depressed since his wife died. The family has little money, which hurts Randall, who aspires to play college basketball. Esch starts having sex at age 12, and she’s a teenager who’s pregnant. Skeetah raises China, the pit bull, and fiercely tends to he rpuppies because they are his future source of income. The details of the story make it seem like it will be a tough go,but the strong voice of Esch makes it work. She’s strong, a bit moony over Manny, and a dedicated mothe ralready. The other thing that makes the story work is that I don’t feel manipulated by the story or by the characters. It’s not a tragic story with a feel-good hook of a sad and wise-beyond-his-years child. I’m thinking of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer. These kids feel smart but real.

Finally, what makes this work is the tone of the tragic story. We all know that Hurricane Katrina is coming, and we all know what horrendous damage it left in its wake. Every episode in this story, from the pitbull fighting to the kids fighting to the hurricane march onward, inevitably to the storm.

I was surprised by how much I liked this book. I thought the dog fighting and grim story would be too much, but they weren’t. The writing is very good—and very deserving of the National Book Award—and the characters felt very real. I hope Jesmyn Ward returns to University of Michigan, where she received her MFA, for a reading soon.

One thought on “SALVAGE THE BONES by Jesmyn Ward”

“Audra January 19, 2012 at 4:36 PM
Great review — you totally nailed the sense/feel of this novel. It was intense — painful — to read, but good. Or, enjoyable, if that’s possible. Regardless, I’m with you on how authentic the characters, especially Esch, felt.

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RebeccaK January 20, 2012 at 1:30 PM
Thanks, Audra. I wish I could figure out how she made such a grim story enjoyable!

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Maxine January 20, 2012 at 1:39 PM
Sounds fascinating, I’ll check it out. Have you read or heard of Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin? It sounds as if there are similarities- at least in the impoverished Mississippi setting. CLCL is very good indeed, and not a “crime” novel in most senses of the word.

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RebeccaK January 20, 2012 at 2:35 PM
I downloaded CLCL when it was on sale at the end of the year, but I haven’t read it yet. I’ve heard lots of good things about it.”